Archive for the ‘Blogging’ Category

I have a couple of chats scheduled…and somehow, they’re both scheduled for April 22! Sheesh. My brain sometimes goes on strike without warning. 😉

Luckily, they’re both all-day chats, so I won’t have any trouble being a presence on both. Here’s the info:

Chat #1: Join me at the Loves Romances Café Yahoo loop: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/loveromancescafe for a day of fun chatting about my books, a contest or two, questions and answers, blurbs and excerpts, and lots of gossip. Be there or be square!

Chat #2: Come talk to the authors of the ONE TOUCH BEYOND paranormal anthology. Elizabeth Delisi, also the author of “Since All Is Passing” and “Lady of The Two Lands”; Chris Grover, also the author of “Where’s Michelle” and “Without A Clue”; Kim Cox, also the author of “Suspicious Minds”; Maureen McMahon, also the author of “Shadows in the Mist” and “Return of the Gulls”; Sheryl Hames Torres, also the author of “Enigma.” Where: Latte Lounge at Coffee Time Romance Forums, http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/board/forumdisplay.php?f=435 When: All day. Five authors, contests, and lots of fun! Hope to see you there.

Naturally, being the…um…eccentric person I am, I couldn’t resist trying it out and getting the below result. I have to say, I definitely think that’s who I was in another life. 😉 Here’s the full description from their web page:

You are Joshua Abraham Norton, first and only Emperor of the United States of America!

Born in England sometime in the second decade of the nineteenth century, you carved a notable business career, in South Africa and later San Francisco, until an entry into the rice market wiped out your fortune in 1854. After this, you became quite different. The first sign of this came on September 17, 1859, when you expressed your dissatisfaction with the political situation in America by declaring yourself Norton I, Emperor of the USA. You remained as such, unchallenged, for twenty-one years.

Within a month you had decreed the dissolution of Congress. When this was largely ignored, you summoned all interested parties to discuss the matter in a music hall, and then summoned the army to quell the rebellious leaders in Washington. This did not work. Magnanimously, you decreed (eventually) that Congress could remain for the time being. However, you disbanded both major political parties in 1869, as well as instituting a fine of $25 for using the abominable nickname “Frisco” for your home city.

Your days consisted of parading around your domain – the San Francisco streets – in a uniform of royal blue with gold epaulettes. This was set off by a beaver hat and umbrella. You dispensed philosophy and inspected the state of sidewalks and the police with equal aplomb. You were a great ally of the maligned Chinese of the city, and once dispersed a riot by standing between the Chinese and their would-be assailants and reciting the Lord’s Prayer quietly, head bowed.

Once arrested, you were swiftly pardoned by the Police Chief with all apologies, after which all policemen were ordered to salute you on the street. Your renown grew. Proprietors of respectable establishments fixed brass plaques to their walls proclaiming your patronage; musical and theatrical performances invariably reserved seats for you and your two dogs. (As an aside, you were a good friend of Mark Twain, who wrote an epitaph for one of your faithful hounds, Bummer.) The Census of 1870 listed your occupation as “Emperor.”

The Board of Supervisors of San Francisco, upon noticing the slightly dilapidated state of your attire, replaced it at their own expense. You responded graciously by granting a patent of nobility to each member. Your death, collapsing on the street on January 8, 1880, made front page news under the headline “Le Roi est Mort”. Aside from what you had on your person, your possessions amounted to a single sovereign, a collection of walking sticks, an old sabre, your correspondence with Queen Victoria and 1,098,235 shares of stock in a worthless gold mine. Your funeral cortège was of 30,000 people and over two miles long.

The burial was marked by a total eclipse of the sun.

~~~~~~~~~~

I noticed right away the day he proclaimed himself Emperor–September 17–is my birthday. So this is most definitely me. The only thing they forgot is, of course, I need an obelisk on my grave. We rulers of the world generally expect something spectacular!

I saw a fun game on a friend’s blog (thanks, Jen!) and thought I’d try it.

The game is SCATTERGORIES … and it’s harder than it looks! Here are the rules:

*Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the questions.
* They MUST be real places, names, things … NOTHING made up!
* If you can’t think of anything, skip it.
* You CAN’T use your name for the boy/girl name question.
* If your name happens to start with the same letter as mine, sorry, but you can’t use my answers!

A few weeks back, I finished my Tendrils Shawl from Knitty. I decided not to use beads because of the weight, and also because I had no experience working with beads and knitting. Since then I’ve been working on the Mystery Stole 3, which has beads and I’m having fun with them, so someday I may try it again with beads. Anyway, here’s a picture of the finished object:

I ended up wearing it over this past weekend, while my husband participated in the Timberman Triathlon. It was cold…much colder than expected for mid-August! And windy. I was thankful to have a nice, warm shawl…though three or four of them would have been better. 😉

Here’s a closeup of the stitches:

There’s a mini-cable, a “regular” cable, and a ladder stitch. It was a lot of fun to work on.

The yarn I used was Classic Elite Premiere. It’s a gorgeous yarn, 50% pima cotton and 50% tencel. It’s SO soft, I spent a lot of time just patting and stroking it. Came out beautifully after washing and blocking and feels great next to the skin.

So, what are YOU working on? Something you’ll still use this summer, or have you all started your fall and winter projects already?

How do you like the new image on my blog? A good friend generously took the time to create it for me, so now you know what I look like, as well as what the covers of a few of my books look like. Comments?

I probably have software somewhere on my computer that would have created this. But even assuming I found it and knew it was the one, I wouldn’t know how to do it. I can crop and edit photos I’ve taken, but I’ve never been able to figure out how to put more than one image in an image. I have enough trouble working with one at a time. 😉

Yet in general, I’m fairly comfortable with “computing.” Working with images just seems to be my weak area. Another weak area is HTML. I have a 3-CD set of HTML lessons from Video Professor that I’m working my way through. Once I’m done, I hope to be able to manage my website with a little more ease and a little less hair-pulling.

What about you? Do you have computer skills that are strong and others that could use a little polishing? Have you brushed up in a particular area…and if so, how?

Okay, I’m still trying to modify/customize my blog. Not doing real well, but made a teeny bit of progress in finding a theme that would allow me to upload a photo. Well and good, but unless I want a photo of my nose and cheeks, it doesn’t work for MY picture, since it only allows a photo of 760 x 190 pixels. So I’ve uploaded a photo of a shawl belonging to my grandmother, at least fifty years old, not sure how much older than that it might be. Made of what looks like cobweb lace and gorgeous. But unfortunately, now full of holes. 😦

As to writing, I’m working on a novella, “All Work and No Play,” for Ellora’s Cave that needs to be done in about a week, part of their “Torrid Tarot” series. I hope you’ll enjoy it when it comes out! Check back here for the latest news. When I’m finished with that, next on the docket is finishing “Perilous Prediction,” a novella-length sequel to my paranormal mystery novel, “Fatal Fortune.”